Derek Jeter

Derek Sanderson Jeter (born June 26, 1974) is an American baseball shortstop who has played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. A five-time World Series champion, Jeter is regarded as a central figure of the Yankees during their success of the 1990s and 2000s due to his hitting ability, baserunning, and leadership. He is the Yankees' all-time career leader in hits (3,304), games played (2,585), stolen bases (348), and at bats (10,551).

You're playing a game, whether it's Little League or Game 7 of the World Series. It's impossible to do well unless you're having a good time. People talk about pressure. Yeah, there's pressure. But I just look at it as fun.

I only wanted to play baseball. I only wanted to play shortstop. I only wanted to play for the Yankees. My whole life. It wasn't like I wanted to play for another team and ended up in New York. It wasn't like I wanted to play another position and ended up at short. This has always been the dream of mine: to play shortstop for the New York Yankees. And I get a chance to do it.

As good as I've seen in my lifetime -- day in and day out, understanding situations, playing the game, letting the game come to him. All of those adages and those things that you talk about that apply to so many players, they all apply to him, because he gets it. I've never seen anything like it. He plays the game the way you want every person on your team to play it. He plays it not only hard, efficiently and professionally, but he plays it with a high degree of talent.